Writers urged to spur economic growth

Since June, Gen-Z protests in Kenya have dominated African news.

What started as peaceful protests later became violent.

On June 25, several demonstrators invaded Parliament before the police opened fire to quell the protests against an unpopular tax bill.

The proposed law has since been withdrawn, but the youth-led protests continue with demands for President William Ruto to step down.

The demonstrations forced him to fire nearly all his Cabinet and Attorney-General.

Kenya, like many African countries, has a youthful population. Its 2019 census shows 75 percent of the country’s population of 47.6 million is aged under 35, with about 14 million people or 29 percent being 18 to 34 years old.

However, the National Council for Population and Development predicts that Kenya’s young population will grow to 22.3 million.

This means that more young people will enter the labor force.

Given limited job opportunities, youth unemployment is projected to keep rising.

Economic exclusion cripples their capacity to acquire financial independence, affecting their self-worth and ability to meet their basic necessities.

The media and campaigners in Kenya partly attribute the youth uprising to growing frustration due to lack of job opportunities.

The final straw was the highly indebted government’s plans to introduce more taxes, including levies on mobile money transfers and digital products that would have directly affected young people’s online activities.

The government, together with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has been targeted by young demonstrators for being behind the proposed tax increases.

However, the IMF says its primary purpose of lending to Kenya is to assist the country in overcoming economic issues and improving people’s well-being.

This is debatable.

However, it is widely acknowledged that Kenya’s economic instability propelled Gen-Z to the streets. What is disturbing is that the crisis is not unique to Kenya.

Much of Africa is facing this huge crisis.

For most developing nations, high unemployment rates constitute a big issue for young Africans.

According to Statistica, countries with high rates include South Africa (with 51 percent), Eswatini (50 percent), Djibouti (77 percent) and Libya (51 percent).

Slow economic development in Africa generally leads to unemployment, lower income levels and lower investment. It reduces the general standard of living. Young people are prone to frustration amid shrinking income generating opportunities.

This fuels crime and violence in most African countries. In Kenya, several journalists warn that while the Finance Bill and associated tax hikes may have sparked the Gen-Z protests, resentment had been building for years since independence when serious national concerns were not adequately addressed.

These include population growth, land degradation, economic slowdown, tribalism, corruption and predominance of politics over economics.

It is reported that the economy did not grow as quickly as projected in the past two years, leaving many Kenyans frustrated.

This, coupled with uncurbed corruption, has become a big source of resentment.

It appears the youth’s patience ran out.

Noting that all these challenges are not confined to Kenya.

The persistent unrest in Nairobi and other cities could be a warning for Africa’s future.

Are the young Kenyans setting an example for the rest of the continent as they have been praised over social media?

Over the recent months, youth-led protests have also erupted in other countries such as Uganda and Nigeria, albeit briefly.

These should serve as warnings for governments that are not paying attention to issues that matter to the continent’s youth majority.

The youth are most prone to the global economic downturn and they feel ignored.

The protests are their way of speaking out and demanding change.

As Steve Maraboli said, take action.

“An inch of movement will bring you closer to your goals than a mile of intentions,” he said.

There is an urgent need to address the challenges and create opportunities for the youth to lift them from dependence and increase their participation in the economy.